[BUG] Claude Max plan session limits exhausted abnormally fast since March 23, 2026 (CLI usage)

### Preflight Checklist - [x] I have searched [existing issues](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20label%3Abug) and this hasn't been reported yet - [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs) - [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code ### What's Wrong? Since March 23, 2026, the 5-hour session window on Claude Max plan is being exhausted abnormally fast when using Claude via the CLI (Claude Code). With the exact same workload and prompts as previous days, the usage limit is now hit within 1-2 hours instead of the usual full 5-hour window. The consumption rate appears to have increased drastically without any changes on our end. Other users are reporting the same issue on Reddit (r/ClaudeCode and r/Anthropic), with some reporting jumps from 21% to 100% usage on a single prompt with the Max 20x plan, and Max 5x users exhausting their window in ~1.5 hours with normal agentic tasks. ### What Should Happen? The 5-hour session window should last the full duration with normal agentic CLI usage, consistent with behavior prior to March 23, 2026. ### Error Messages/Logs ```shell Usage limit reached message: "Claude AI usage limit reached, please try again after [time]" No specific error in CLI beyond the rate limit cutoff. ``` ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Have an active Claude Max plan (5x or 20x) 2. Use Claude via the CLI (Claude Code) for normal agentic tasks (file editing, code generatio

Posted by karenrebecag on Mar 24, 2026, 5:23 PM

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• github (Software)

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